U is for Unguent – Pagan Blog Project 2013

And, while I’m playing catch-up, let’s opt for something simple. “Unguent” is another word for “Soothing Ointment”. There are lots of people (although The Witch of Forest Grove is the one who comes most immediately to mind) who make flying ointments and other salves that have physical effects beyond smoothing out the dry skin on your heals.
 
I don’t go quite that far.
 
But I do make magical salves.
 
I make massage balms with specific intentions built into them – like the foot balm that contains both anti-fungal properties and happens to have some “come to me boy” effects infused into it as well[1]; or the peppermint-lavender mix that calms and purifies on an energetic level as well as a physical one.
 
Mostly, I use a cocoa-butter base with a mix of beeswax (not vegan, sorry – though I could probably substitute coconut oil if I really felt the need) and olive or grapeseed oil to help with consistency, and then hit them with essential oils and energetics ’til they’re cooked, then serve them up in half-cup mason jars… ’cause that’s just the way I roll, apparently. 🙂
 
I’ve been known to use these, once or twice, as dressing oils for candles as well, since their solid-at-room-temperature state makes them easy to apply without adding too much or having a random bowl of oil left over after you’ve started your spell (anyone have suggestions for what to do with these when they do happen?). But, for the most part, I just use them on my body – or make them for other people to use in the same way.
 
I rather enjoy them. 😉
 
 
TTFN,
Meliad the Birch Maiden.
 
 
[1] Why yes, I do know a lot of people who work in the fetish industry. Why do you ask?

Further Adventures in Felting Soap! This Time In Pictures! :-D

Okay. So I’ve been spending a LOT of time at the fibre store of late.
I know.
Basically, I’ve come to the conclusion that I Make Crafts because it’s a creative addiction and I don’t think I could actually stop Making Stuff[1] even if I wanted to, and boy-howdy do I ever not want to.
So that’s where I’m at.
And the latest thing I’ve been making – or making stuff with – is felt. I made myself a felted bracelet for the first time yesterday (and am part-way through a second one, though I may have to start that one over again… we shall see…), am trying my hand at another pair of felted earrings, and have been doing more work on felted soaps.
 
See, I’ve talked before about how I can use felting to (a) hold scent, and (b) make my soaps more beautiful and eye-catching and, er, easier to tell apart on sight (I don’t add dyes to my soaps, so they tent to be a uniform shade of butter-cream, no matter what they smell like).
 
I’ve felted a batch of Squeaky Clean (unscented) soap using – what else – undyed merino roving (a mix of natural off-white, dun, and charcoal… more or less), and a bunch of Pomander (sweet orange, vanilla, clove) wrapped in two shades of orange corriedale, plus a couple of bars of Winter Solstice (peppermint juniper cinnamon) in mostly turquoise and white corriedale plus some whisps of spruce and cranberry thrown in as well.
 
So here’s My Process (so far) in pictures:
 

Pomander soap wrapped in corriedale roving, and ready to go into its boiling water bath.

 

Squeaky Clean soap felted with natural-coloured (undyed, unbleached) merino. I wrapped six bars in a washing-machine “delicates bag” rather than cooking another stocking. We’ll see how it goes.

 

Squeaky Clean soap felted with natural-coloured (undyed, unbleached) merino, and sitting on the draining rack for Stage One of drying. Sometimes I think I should be sitting these in an oven on low heat or something to make sure everything dries evenly.

 

Winter Solstice soap felted in a combination of ice blue and ( snow) white corriedale with added whisps of cranberry and spruce corriedale for accent colours. These two have been drying since yesterday.
(I may need to go back to the Use A Stocking method, since it seems to get the felt to, well, felt a little bit better. It’s a learning process).

 
So there you have it.
What I’ve been up to today. (Stay tuned – once I’ve got it beaded, I’ll post pictures of my felted bracelet — it’s a rather pretty asymetrical piece that – possibly because of the abalone-shell flowers I’ve already sewn to it, or possibly because of its slightly ruffled upper/outer edge – makes me think of Russian Kokoshniki. My next one – maybe – is going to be a cuff. Or it’s going to be a similar ruffly thing, but done more like one of these.
 
Wish me luck! 😀
 
TTFN,
Meliad the Birch Maiden.
 
 
[1] Whether “stuff” is poetry or soap, fiction or candles, handspun yarn or fancy dinners, felted bracelets or fruit butter, knitted shawls or yoghurt, beeswax candles or beaded jewelry, home-grown squash or improvized harmonies or even colaborative art through my work as a model… I feel most happy, and most myself, when I’m Making Stuff. 😉